Much Ado From Poland About Nothing

Warsaw claims that the media has misinterpreted a recent statement by Radoslaw Sikorski, the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry: Poland will not call for the removal of American troops stationed in the country. The Polish Foreign Ministry has accused some Russian information agencies of misinterpreting Sikorski’s comments as demands that the United States deploy more troops on Polish soil to deter acts of “Russian aggression.” The international media has continued to spread this version of Sikorski’s statement. Russian authorities have negatively reacted to the foreign minister’s words, but have decided to verify the information before issuing a response.

On Friday, the Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman, Piotr Paszkowski, announced that the Russian media’s allegations that Sikorski was seeking military protection from Russia are false. According to RIA News, the spokesman claimed that one of the Russian media agencies fabricated the words. “It looks like we are dealing with deliberate manipulation,” said Paszkowski.

In Russia, Sikorski’s statement was spread by the Interfax Agency. It was then reported that the foreign minister made this announcement while in the U.S.

The purported fear of “Russian aggression” was inspired by recent Russian-Belarusian war games, dubbed “West 2009,” which Polish authorities say included the rehearsal of a plan of attack against the Polish state.

We do not understand the reason for these training exercises or what message Russia wants to send to the world, executing the most massive training program on NATO’s borders since the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union. When Poland joined NATO ten years ago, Russia was promised that NATO troops would not overwhelm the region. However, this agreement did not stipulate the complete absence of NATO troops from Russia’s immediate vicinity, and Sikorski argues that this is an issue that must be addressed.

In Moscow, Sikorski’s words have caused a major stir. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov initially refused to believe the reports.

“I know Radoslaw Sikorski. He has always impressed me as someone who has experience and an understanding of the processes taking place in Europe, so before commenting on these remarks, I would like to make sure that these are, in fact, his words,” stated Lavrov. He added that he would be astonished if those were his words.

It should be noted that Radoslaw Sikorski’s statements also drew comments from John Beyrle, the U.S. ambassador to Russia. He said that Washington didn’t see Russia as an external threat to Poland. According to him, American troops in Poland serve to assist with the modernization of the Polish military. It is unlikely that a high-ranking government official would make such a statement based solely on reports in the media, further indicating that Mr. Sikorski did issue the controversial statement.

Furthermore, these reports have not only appeared in the Russian media, but also in other international news sources. In a recent article written by journalists in Moscow and Warsaw, the Daily Telegraph also reported that Sikorski requested to increase the American military presence in the country. The article cited Sergey Lavrov’s statement as well as a comment from an anonymous source within the Kremlin that appeared in the newspaper Kommersant.

The magnitude of the “West 2009” war games in Belarus means it is almost certain that Sikorski made the request for increased U.S. troops. The exercises continued from September 8th to the 29th and involved roughly 12,600 participants. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen had previously stated that the war games do not pose a threat to any of the countries of the alliance.

“We did not consider them a threat towards any ally, ” said Rasmussen of the training exercises. He noted that the fifth article of the NATO Agreement, which includes security assurances, protects all NATO allies.

On Friday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko stated at a briefing in Moscow that Sikorski’s words contradict the promises of the Poles “to build a constructive relationship with Moscow.” According to him, this information will be verified at Smolensk Square. If it is confirmed, “we will only express utter bewilderment,” said Nesterenko.

“It turns out that the reflexes of the Cold War are still alive in Warsaw in their worst incarnations,” stated Mr. Nesterenko.

Note that Warsaw has recently made no secret of its resentment toward the United States for its refusal to place ten interceptor missiles in Poland in the third Ground-Based Midcourse Defense. U.S. President Barack Obama has decided to change the country’s approach to missile defense, making it more efficient and less expensive. Instead of installing interceptor missiles near the Polish capital and radar in the Czech Republic, Washington has decided to place short range missiles closer to Iran, which the U.S. considers the most imminent threat to its European allies in NATO.

Moscow perceived the appearance of U.S. military facilities in Eastern Europe as a potential threat to Russian national security, and made an appeal to the U.S. to abandon those plans. After Obama’s decision to change the missile defense strategy between Moscow and Washington, the relationship between the two countries has improved. They plan to sign a new agreement by December to replace the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT).

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden recently visited Poland to provide reassurance to Warsaw. He said that the U.S. would continue to “ensure the safety of its European allies.” In response, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has offered his country’s services for a new U.S. missile defense program. It was reported that in the future it would be possible to deploy ground-launching SM-3 missiles on Polish territory that could shoot down short- and medium-range missiles.